12-06-2018 - Cochrane Road 2

Cochrane Road is not a particularly long road, certainly not compared to many of the other roads in Durham. However, it is one of the steepest, rising significantly near its western terminus; this combined with 4:15 sunsets means that it must be walked in portions, and relatively small portions at that. Today I walked another two miles along Cochrane Road, the second of three short segments I plan to walk it in. Temperatures were lower, in the lower 30s, but there's been no precipitation in several days, meaning the ground was dry and the roads safe to walk.

Empty hayfield. The clouds moved in early afternoon, and put a bit of a
damper on the whole walk.

A little path through posted woods. This area of town is commonly used for
hunting.

View of Mount Pisgah. Most roads in West Durham travel east-west, so
despite its prominence Pisgah is rarely visible from their sides.

Prominent view of Mounts Hayden (L) and Nebo (R). Although Nebo only
has a topographical prominence of 20 feet, it seems like a separate mountain
from angles like this.

Windham High Peak peers over the forest.

Hayden and Nebo, along with a snowy field along their north slope. These
hayfields are all in active use; the ones closest to the road were being worked
on while I walked by.

View of Murphy's Pond, a small body of water surrounded by forest and
completely frozen over.

As the road approaches Pisgah, its banks become increasingly steep for a time.
Here, the forest floor above the road was nearly at eye level.

Despite the warm, dry weather, the forests in this part of town, completely in
the mountains' shadow, are still covered in snow.

To my surprise, the water in the road's drainage ditches, several inches deep,
was frozen solid.

With an excellent view of the northern Escarpment, this farmhouse is both
beautiful and beautifully situated.

The spruce Picea pungens isn't native to this part of the country, but I
imagine the hay and grass are.

Looking east towards the Taconic Ridge, I thought this view provided a nice
dichotomy between the field and the road.

This images look back at the farmhouse from Monday's post. 

Not much of a sunset, but the fields and forests are always pretty.